Club Risqué, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Thursday Night

[spin_kick_snap]

That morning, under the guise of calling her family to wish them a Happy Lunar New Year, Kathy had asked her sister, Sarah, about all-ages clubs in LA. After Sarah had spent ten minutes explaining that no one over the age of fifteen went to an all-ages club gawd, sis, seriously? Kathy'd asked if she knew about any dance clubs that weren't too keen on looking at IDs. Sarah had been so excited at the idea of her nerdy big sister wanting to go clubbing that she hadn't even questioned why Kathy was looking into places on the other side of the country from where she went to school.

Fortunately for Kathy, Sarah knew just the place. Situated in Hollywood, just a few blocks away from Paramount Pictures, was Club Risqué. It was technically meant to be 21-and-over, but the bouncers were well-known for ignoring IDs in favor of Grants. Or, better yet, Benjamins. While the age limit wasn't enforced, the dress code definitely was: dress to impress only, losers need not apply. There were rumors of the owners being a little shady, but even if that were true, there were no ties with the South Seventeens.

That was good enough for Kathy. After getting back from Selkie Peak with Edward and taking a long shower (a warm one this time!), she made a few more calls to let everyone know that they were good to go tonight.

***

Coming to LA had been the perfect choice, Kathy decided. Rather than freezing on the walk from their portal to the club and the following wait in line, they got to enjoy temperatures in the mid-50s. Maybe it was appreciation for the lack of shivering, but one of the bouncers noticed them right off and gestured them forward. They even got a break on their entrance fee; for an extra $200 he waved them all inside without even mentioning the need for identification. Once the heavily soundproofed doors were open, they could hear the loud hip-hop/dance-pop playing over the club's speakers. Even without that, the heavy beat was palpable, the floor almost vibrating with it.

A huge bar took up one section of the club, and across from it was the DJ's island. Along the walls were plenty of tables and padded booths for people to sit in, if they wanted to--or more than sit, as they could see when the brightly-colored lights would flash over them, illuminating couples making out like LA had been filled with pollen, too. More bouncers held positions inside the club, scattered in little pockets of isolation, keeping careful watch over the club-goers, occasionally touching their ears to hear information relayed through their headsets. Several doors dotted the walls, leading to the coat-check, a back room area in the bar, bathrooms, and a VIP area, where small 'champagne rooms' could be rented for the hour, or enjoyed by high-profile guests and friends of the owners. The rest of the space was dominated by the dance floor, filled with writhing bodies, while bubbles and even foam occasionally rained down to roars of approval.

"This is it!" Kathy yelled, trying to be heard above the din. So long as they stood close and shouted, they could carry on a conversation. "We ready to dance?"

[For the LA clubbers, please, and NFB! Up early for timezones and great SP]

Comments

So You Better Get This Party Started

[spin_kick_snap]

For anything before they get inside the club. From getting ready to waiting in line, whether you wanna argue about what to wear or marvel at the warmth and lack of snow!

Re: So You Better Get This Party Started

[not_a_moonie]

Alana's look for the night included a silver lame tank top, the same painted on-looking leather leggings she'd worn to the Valentine's Dance, and what she thought was a perfect smoky eye.

She rubbed at a shoulderblade as they got close to the club. "So, what are we going to do if they do ask for ID?"

Re: So You Better Get This Party Started

[myownface]

"Leave and find a different club," Sparkle suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "This can't be the only one that plays fast and loose when it comes to who gets let in. And, I mean, I have a fake ID if need be, but I'm gonna guess the rest of you don't, so much."

And even he couldn't get all of them hooked up with one on such short notice.

Re: So You Better Get This Party Started

[giveherahand]

Mara shrugged. "I think we're showing enough skin to get in," she said. "And those are totally cute shoes, by the way."

Mara's added four inches to her height, which still made her short.

Re: So You Better Get This Party Started

[spin_kick_snap]

"Well, first I'm going to try to pay them more and see if that convinces them to stop asking questions," Kathy admitted. "Also, you need to sit me down and teach me how to do makeup. Your eyes are amazing."

Kathy learned mostly from Youtube tutorials. On day she'd attempt liquid liner and the vaunted swoop. One day.

Re: So You Better Get This Party Started

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

Minako had a cute little black dress (http://data2.whicdn.com/images/60899453/large.jpg), the standard for clubs everywhere, and the same gold heels (http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=51643853) she'd worn to the dance. She'd also added a ton of gold jangly bracelets to both wrists, bright blue nails for some color to pop, and gold hoop earrings.

"I wanna daaaaaaaaaaaaance," she said, bouncing in place. "How's my hair?"

Re: So You Better Get This Party Started

[justwantedfriends]

"Your hair looks perfect, like always," Kira assured her, trying to adjust her top without being too obvious about it. "Does my hair look okay? All the cold weather has been killing the ends."

Re: So You Better Get This Party Started

[spin_kick_snap]

"You, my friend," Kathy said, pointing, "look amazing. I love that dress. You've got this whole, golden glow thing going on for you right now and it's awesome."

You know, the hair, the bracelets, the earrings, the heels. That kind of stuff.

"I need to buy more jewelry, I think. I went with this dress because the neckline meant I didn't have to worry about finding a necklace."

Re: So You Better Get This Party Started

[justwantedfriends]

Kira had never actually worn this outfit--it had been a gift from a friend that had languished in the back of her closet where no one would ever see it--but a club in LA where no one would know her but her friends seemed like a perfect time to go for it, especially since the weather was okay for it. "I feel so bad. Like, behavior bad, not actually bad," she said, bouncing a little in her boots.

Re: So You Better Get This Party Started

[giveherahand]

"You don't normally do this?" Mara asked.

Re: So You Better Get This Party Started

[giveherahand]

Mara looked like she'd possibly killed and skinned some exotic alien creature for her dress but that was ridiculous! She was a dancer! And a teenager!

A teenager in an absolutely killer pair of heels. The candy shop paid really well? Or something?

"This is not at all like the places I normally get to dance!" she said, grinning. "I can tell already."

Re: So You Better Get This Party Started

[kenselvren]

Jalian was wearing a loose shirt that let her fit knives underneath and denim (very) shorts with tall white boots. This seemed like an interesting idea, this "clubbing", and she was really interested in how this California was different from hers.

You Can Find Me In Da Club

[spin_kick_snap]

There's drinking! Dancing! Making out with strangers!

For whatever mischief a group of young, hot, hopped up on sex pollen Fandomites can come up with!

Re: You Can Find Me In Da Club

[spin_kick_snap]

Sooo, Kathy had never gone clubbing. Ever. But the salesgirl that had sold her the dress she'd worn to the Valentine's Day dance had managed to send her home with several different possibilities. One of those possibilities had been the little black dress she was wearing tonight.

That was club-appropriate, right?

Why didn't clubs come with textbooks? She could have studied!

Re: You Can Find Me In Da Club

[myownface]

Spark had a pretty good feeling about tonight. After all, he was the one gay guy in a pack of ladies, which meant that he was the only one playing his own particular demographic in the group. And really, after the horrible way Nar Shaddaa had worked out for him earlier in the week, he was about ready for a night out to go right for a change.

There were a few guys he had an eye on already, just a few steps in through the front door. Now the trick was finding one who had their eye on him in turn.

He was pretty sure he was in the right place for that.

Re: You Can Find Me In Da Club

[not_a_moonie]

Alana eyed the dance floor, eyed her pretty-but-impractical shoes, and decided she needed a drink before she tried to dance in them in front of people.

Not that alcohol improved coordination, but she'd never been the best at logic that way.

She went over to the bar and leaned toward a cute college guy, willing him to be the type to buy drinks for pretty girls. That type had never been exactly scarce, in her experience.

Re: You Can Find Me In Da Club

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

For someone as spazzy as Minako tended to be, she was surprisingly graceful and talented on the dance floor. Friendly, too. Boys, girls, she'd dance with everyone and anyone tonight.

Although she had two admirers (http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2012/191/2/7/fanart__minako_by_oraclesaturn-d56oiac.jpg) in particular - a guy with long, blond hair and another guy with short purple-spiked hair. And Minako being Minako, well, she was doing her best to dance with both of them, sometimes at the same time. She liked them both, after all!

Re: You Can Find Me In Da Club

[giveherahand]

Mara wasn't making out with strangers, but she was definitely letting a few of them buy her drinks.

She suffered through any number of terrible questions about matching draperies first, which had taken her a few minutes to properly understand. Once she did, they didn't get to buy her drinks. They had very trod-upon toes and an earful of falsely-sincere apologies.

Re: You Can Find Me In Da Club

[kenselvren]

This was very loud! And so many lights! And there were a lot of people. And a lot of them were pretty. So Jalian was going to move with the music the way she'd learned people here did, as closely to as many of them as possible.

I Said Excuse Me You're A Hell Of A Guy

[spin_kick_snap]

For he with the terrible taste in dudes...

Re: I Said Excuse Me You're A Hell Of A Guy

[myownface]

So, that guy that Sparkle had been making eyes at all night? Apparently he'd been making eyes right back, and when the bartender set a drink down in front of him and gestured over to the one who had bought it for him, Sparkle excused himself from keeping company with the throng of ladies he'd come in with, and went over to introduce himself. The guy said his name was Iván, Sparkle said his name was Mikhail, neither believed the other one in the least, but that was fine. They weren't here to make lasting friendships or anything like that.

Sparkle didn't notice Iván checking his wristwatch thoughtfully before he explained that he knew a quiet place he could go, but that wouldn't have made any difference, really. The guy had him the moment he showed interest. How could Sparkle argue with that? Or the way they were getting handsy already as they made their way across the dance floor? They went through a door leading into the champagne room, with only the dull thud of the bass spilling in around them, and Sparkle's belt was already open and his shirt was on the floor by the time somebody behind them cleared their throat.

Iván stopped tugging at Sparkle's clothes and looked up. Sparkle stopped tugging at Iván's clothes and looked up. Iván started yelling something in Spanish that Sparkle didn't have a hope in hell of translating. Sparkle started yelling swear words in English without even really thinking about it, and threw in a bit of Chiac French because Lewis had taught him that one and it was excellent for keeping people guessing at what the fuck was coming out of his mouth.

The men who were sitting at the table with a full spread of guns that could not possibly be legal and an open briefcase full of money reached for their own, loaded guns, one of them barking something to Iván about how the buyer was late and they knew they were supposed to be out of here by now but look, they were here conducting business and they'd be done soon, okay?

Sparkle... kneed Iván in the balls. And then went tearing out of the room like somebody had set his ass on fire, because oh shit oh shit oh shitshitshit and he was never picking up a guy at a club or going into a room off the main floor of a club or going to a club again and he wasn't even going to look back as he ran for the nearest group of Fandom ladies in the building and made desperate gestures for the door.

"Time to go, ladies!"

Iván and some pretty pissed-off-looking men were making their way out of the champagne room and squinting into the crowd, looking for the half-dressed little shit who had seen too much and then went and left their boss wheezing before taking off. Now might be a good time to...

Leave? Right? They were going to leave?

Boom Boom Pow

[spin_kick_snap]

...For after all hell breaks loose!

Oh, hey, you weren't using that cover, were you?

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

The girls had huddled around Sparkle and make excellent plans on how to get him (and themselves) to safety. Unfortunately, before they could implement any of them, they were rudely interrupted by a handful of men: the bartender, a few bouncers, and Sparkle's lackluster Romeo.

Anyone who could read lips would see the bartender mouth Cell jammers in place, presumably into a small microphone attached to his collar. The bouncers touched their ears and nodded, practically in unison, as he said so.

"Ladies," 'Iván' said, stepping forward and smiling at them. "I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding here. Why don't we all head into the back room with your friend here and get it sorted out, hmm?"

Re: Boom Boom Pow

[hollywoodex-tra.livejournal.com]

Once the doors were forced open, most of the club-goers fled the scene. Most of them weren't entirely sure what was going on--gunshots? alarms? blood?--but they all knew that something was going down. The doors of Club Risqué were finally flung open and a torrent of drunken young adults surged out, flooding the street for a moment.

[For the intro of the LA native!]

OOC

[spin_kick_snap]

Come Mr. DJ song pon de replay
Come Mr. DJ don't you end the world right now